Asia Rises Before Fed Meeting

By

Sarah Turner in Sydney and

Nick Godt in Mumbai

Updated Sept. 21, 2011 6:34 a.m. ET

Asian stocks were mostly higher after a choppy session on Wednesday, with a U.S. monetary-policy meeting on tap for later in the global trading day and with European sovereign-debt woes never far from the spotlight.

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The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.2% to 8741.16 in Tokyo, the S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.8% to 4071.80 in Sydney, India's Sensex fell 0.2% to 17065.15 and the Kospi climbed 1% to 1854.28 in Seoul after seesawing earlier in the day.

"Investors are waiting for more news on Europe and for the Federal Open Market Committee meeting," said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia. "The trend remains uncertain, and sentiment remains cautious."

In this kind of market, only defensive firms such as utilities and telecoms have remained stable, he said. Financials, for example, "are linked with the debt problems," he added, noting further losses for some of the sector Wednesday.

The outlook for technology-sector earnings may be improving. U.S. technology giant Oracle late Tuesday reported a 36% increase in fiscal-year profit and an in-line outlook.

Additionally, profit growth for Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric means that both firms are expected to raise their interim dividend payouts to the highest level since 2008, the Nikkei reported.

Some major exporters also moved higher, with Canon up 0.7% in Japanese trade, while Li & Fung jumped 4.1% in Hong Kong.

However, Toyota Motor shares were down 0.5% in Tokyo after a massive typhoon hit Japan, reportedly causing at least four deaths. Toyota has halted operations at 11 plants in the area.

In the energy sector, companies were advancing as the dollar weakened a touch ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, with Hong Kong-listed PetroChina up 0.6%, and Woodside Petroleum up 1% in Sydney.

Earnings news helped retailers advance in Australia, with David Jones up 2.2% after the department-store operator stuck to its outlook, even as it posted a drop in profit.

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